Thread delivery device for textile machines

ABSTRACT

A thread delivery device for a textile machine having a drum onto which a thread which comes from a storage spool can be wound and from where it can be fed to a work place of the textile machine. An electric line system is associated with the device for feeding the wnding drive for the drum or the control elements for the winding drive. A holder supports the drum and has a clamping foot for securing the holder on a support rail. A cable with side-by-side arranged electric supply lines extends along the rail, the cable being connected to a main feed line. A set of contact pins is connected to the line system of the device and is arranged on the clamping foot for electrically connecting the line system of the device to the supply lines during clamping of the holder on the support rail. The supply lines are arranged in a flat cable with a closed insulating sleeve, and the contact pins are sharpened so that they, during clamping of the holder on the support rail, pierce throug the insulating sleeve so as to contact the supply lines.

Rosen July 24, 1973 1 THREAD DELIVERY DEVICE FOR TEXTILE MACHINES [76] Inventor: Karl Isae Joel Rosen, Villa Haga,

S-52300, Ulricehamn, Sweden [221 Filed: Nov. 5, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 196,124

Primary ExaminerStanley N. Gilreath Attorney-Woodhams, Blanchard and Flynn [57] ABSTRACT A thread delivery device for a textile machine having a drum onto which a thread which comes from a storage spool can be wound and from where it can be fed to a work place of the textile machine. An electric line system is associated with the device for feeding the wnding drive for the drum or the control elements for the winding drive. A holder supports the drum and has a clamping foot for securing the holder on a support rail. A cable with side-by-side arranged electric supply lines extends along the rail, the cable being connected to a main feed line. A set of contact pins is connected to the line system of the device and is arranged on the clamping foot for electrically connecting the line system of the device to the supply lines during clamping of the holder on the support rail. The supply lines are arranged in a flat cable with a closed insulating sleeve, and the contact pins are sharpened so that they, during clamping of the holder on the support rail, pierce throug the insulating sleeve so as to contact the supply lines.

6 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures I PATENIEBJULZMHH 747, 64

SHEEI 1 0F 2 INVENTOR I MP1 A5146 um POM/V M M w THREAD DELIVERY EVICE FOR TEXTILE MACHINES The invention relates to a thread delivery device for textile machines comprising a drum onto which the thread which comes from a storage spool can be wound and from where it can be fed to a work place of the textile machine, a winding drive, an electric line system on the device for supplying electrical energy to the winding drive or the control elements for the winding drive and if desired a signal larnp, a holder with a clamping foot, which holder carries the drum, with which clamping foot the holder can be secured on a support rail along which a cable with side-by-side arranged electric supply lines extends, which cable is connected to a main feed line, and a set of contact pins connected to the line system on the device and arranged in the clamping foot and through which the line system of the device can be connected electrically to the supply lines during clamping of the holder on the support rail.

Thread delivery devices of this type have the advantage that the actual device which has the winding drum and the holder needs only to be clamped on the support rail in order to connect the electrical line system of the device to the electrical supply lines. It is thus possible to mount a plurality of thread delivery devices on a textile machin'e,for example a circular knitting machine, on a common support rail having an adjacent cable containing therein the supply lines.

In thread delivery'device's of this type which have been on the market so far, the supply lines he, uncovered on one side, in the cable. The contact pins press,

during tightening of the clamping foot, laterally against the uncovered supply lines. This has the disadvantage that the insulation of the supply lines is poor. Breakdowns due to short circuits cannot be excluded with complete certainty. It may also happen that during the clamping of the devices a poor contact is created between the supply lines and the contact pins when the uncovered supply lines are dirty. Finally, a special cable which does not have any insulation on one side and is not suitable as a main line must be used. Therefore a separate main line must be provided and same must in turn be connected to the cable.

The basic purpose of the invention is to construct thread delivery device of the type discussed above in such a manner that, in spite of a perfect insulation of the supply lines, a reliable electrical contact of the thread delivery device with the cable is assured. This purpose is attained according to the invention by arranging the supply lines in a flat cable with a closed insulating sleeve and sharpening the contact pins of the thread delivery device so that they, during the clamping of the holder on the support rail, pierce through the insulating sleeve until contact with the supply lines is established.

The supply lines are, in the thread delivery device of the invention, completely enclosed in an insulating sleeve so that there is no danger whatsoever of short circuits. The contact pins which connect the supply lines to the line system on the thread delivery device are, during clamping of the device on the support rail, pushed intothe insulating sleeve until contact with the supply lines is established. This assures a reliable contact which is not affected by any danger of dirt or the like. 1

According to an advantageous further development of the invention, the holder is provided with a clamping foot having a mouthlike recess therein and the sidewall of the recess facing the flat cable has a set of contact pins stationarily mounted thereon, the opposite sidewall of the recess facing the support rail having a threaded clamping member screwed thereon. The holder their needs to be moved only so that the mouthlike recess is over the support rail, whereupon the clamping member is then tightened in order to pierce the sharpened contact pins into the insulating sleeve until contact with the supply lines is established.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the sidewall of the mouthlike recess which faces the flat cable has a cavity therein, the height of which corresponds to the height of the flat cable, whereby the set of contact pins is arranged in the cavity. The cavity forms a snug fit for the flat cable and assures that the flat cable is exactly correctly positioned relative to the contact pins.

It is particularly advantageous if the flat cable forms at the same time the main feed line. Through this the necessity of the special cable and the connection of this special cable to the differently constructed main feed line no longer exists. The same cable which forms the main feed line can thus also extend along the support rail.

One exemplary embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic top view of a circular knitting machine which is equipped with a plurality of the inventive thread delivery devices,

7 FIG. 2 is a fragmentary view along the line II-II in FIG. 1, and

FIG. 3 is a sectional view corresponding to FIG. 2 but illustrating the holder of the thread delivery device before it has been clamped on the support rail.

In FIG. 1, S identifies a multi-system circular knitting machine which is purely schematically indicated as a circle. Each system is associated with a feed delivery and storage device 1. These devices are known in different constructions. For example, they can be devices of the type described in German publication DAS No. 1,635,899, U.S. Pat. No. 3,225,446 or U.S. Pat. No. 3,419,225. Such devices pull the thread off a storage spool and wind same onto a storage drum. The thread is pulled axially from said storage spool by the working elements of the knitting or other textile machine. These devices serve to permit intermittent thread feed. However, the devices 1 could also be those with a positive thread feed in which the thread is guided only a few times, in an extreme case only one time, around the rotating drum or roller and is pulled off tangentially from the roller. Also other thread delivery devices fall under the invention which does not deal with the actual structure of the thread delivery device but with its electric connection.

FIG. 2 indicates a thread delivery device 1 of the type described in German publication DAS No. l,635,899 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,419,225. Samehas a drum 2 which can be driven for rotation by means of an electric motor arranged in said drum. A ring 3 which scans the thread storage quantity operates a switch in the electrical feed system of the electric motor. A signal lamp indicates breakdowns.

The drum 2 with all of its associated structural parts is supported on an arm-shaped holder 5 which has a clamping foot 6. The clamping foot has a downwardly open, mouth-shaped recess 7, into the one sidewall 7a of which a clamping screw 8 is threaded. The other sidewall 7b (FIG. 3) has a cavity 9 formed therein.

The device 1 contains an electric line system, the details of which are of no interest here. This line system serves for supplying electrical energy to the electric motor, the signal lamp and, if necessary, the electric control elements. If the device does not have a separate electric motor, but for example is driven by means of a tape drive, together with similar devices, then as a rule an electromagnetic coupling is provided with which the drive can be turned on or can be stopped. In this case the electric line system serves also for supplying the electromagnetic coupling.

In FIG. 3 the line system on the side of the device 1 is indicated at 14 and has four line ends. Same are held in a set of contacts 10 having contact pins 10a. As can be recognized, particularly from FIG. 3, the contact pins 10a are sharpened. They form in a vertical plane blades which are positioned one below the other, which blades are fixedly mounted in the set of contacts 10.

A ringlike, circular support rail 11, which is held stationarily by not illustrated members, is associated with and surrounds the knitting machine S. A flat cable 12 which is constructed in onepiece with a main connecting line 12a extends along the inside of the support rail 11. As can be recognized from FIG. 2 and 3, the flat cable 12 has an FIGS. sleeve 12b which has a rectangular cross section and which is closed all around. The height of said insulating sleeve corresponds exactly to the height of the cavity 9 in the sidwall 7b of the recess 7. Four supply lines 13 are contained side-by-side in the insulating sleeve 12b.

ln installing the devices 1, the holders 5 are moved with their mouths 7 from above onto the support rail 11. The clamping screw 8 is originally in the outward position illustrated in FIG. 3. When the flat cable 12 is at the height of the cavity 9, the clamping screw 8 is tightened. It then pulls the holder 5 in FIGS. 2 and 3 to the left relative to the rail 11 so that the flat cable 12 is pushed into the cavity 9 and is guided fittingly along the upper and lower walls of the cavity. During'a further tightening of the clamping screw 8, the sharpened contact pins 10a penetrate into the insulating sleeve 12b and pierce through same until they enter into a contact connection with the supply lines 13. Through this the electric connection of the line system 14 of the device to the supply lines 13 is assured at the same time as the mechanical holders of the devices 1 are clamped to the rail 11.

The invention is not limited to the illustrated exemplary embodiment. As has already been mentioned, the invention can be used for any type of thread delivery device for textile machines. Furthermore the special construction of the clamping foot could also be different. In place of the clamping screw it would also be possible to provide an eccentric clamping cam or another clamping element. Also, of course, the number of supply lines may vary and must correspond to the electric requirements of the device. The contact pins may also be of pointed construction. Furthermore, a certain axial movability and resiliency of the contact pins is possible so that same upon meeting the supply lines can possibly be slightly pushed back. Also, in place of a simple support rail which is rectangular in cross section, a rail which is profiled in any desired manner can be provided. The support rail also does not need to be circular. Its shape corresponds to the shape of the textile machine. Finally the flat cable can also be arranged on the outside of a support rail rotating in a closed ath. p The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. In a thread delivery device for a textile machine having a drum onto which the thread which comes from a storage spool can be wound and from where it can be fed to a work place of the textile machine, a winding drive for the drum, an electric line system associated with the device for feeding the winding drive, a support rail, a holder supporting the drum and having a clamping foot for securing the holder on said support rail, a cable with side-by-side arranged electric supply lines extending along the rail, the cable being connected to a main feed line, and a set of contact pins connected to the line system of the device and arranged on the clamping foot for electrically connecting the line system of the device to the supply lines during clamping of the holder on the support rail, comprising the improvement wherein the supply lines are arranged in a flat cable with a closed insulating sleeve, and the contact pins are sharpened so that they, during clamping of the holder on the support rail, pierce through the insulating sleeve until contact with the supply lines exist.

2. A thread delivery device according to claim 1, wherein the clamping foot has a mouth-like recess, the sidewall of the recess which faces the flat cable having the set of contact pins stationarily arranged thereon, and the opposite sidewall of the recess facing the support rail having a threaded clamping member mounted thereon.

3. A thread delivery device according to claim 2, wherein the sidewall of the mouth-like recess which faces the flat cable contains a cavity, the height of which corresponds to the height of the flat cable, and

the set of contact pins being arranged in the cavity.

4. A thread delivery device according to claim 3, wherein the flat cable forms at the same time the main feed line.

5. A thread delivery device according to claim 1, wherein the flat cable also forms the main feed line.

6. A thread delivery device according to claim 1, wherein said supply lines are arranged in adjacent sideby-side relationship within said flat cable and extend circumferentially around said drum.

i i i l i 

1. In a thread delivery device for a textile machine having a drum onto which the thread which comes from a storage spool can be wound and from where it can be fed to a work place of the textile machine, a winding drive for the drum, an electric line system associated with the device for feeding the winding drive, a support rail, a holder supporting the drum and having a clamping foot for securing the holder on said support rail, a cable with side-by-side arranged electric supply lines extending along the rail, the cable being connected to a main feed line, and a set of contact pins connected to the line system of the device and arranged on the clamping foot for electrically connecting the line system of the device to the supply lines during clamping of the holder on the support rail, comprising the improvement wherein the supply lines are arranged in a flat cable with a closed insulating sleeve, and the contact pins are sharpened so that they, during clamping of the holder on the support rail, pierce through the insulating sleeve until contact with the supply lines exist.
 2. A thread delivery device according to claim 1, wherein the clamping foot has a mouth-like recess, the sidewall of the recess which faces the flat cable having the set of contact pins stationarily arranged thereon, and the opposite sidewall of the recess facing the support rail having a threaded clamping member mounted thereon.
 3. A thread delivery device according to claim 2, wherein the sidewall of the mouth-like recess which faces the flat cable contains a cavity, the height of which corresponds to the height of the flat cable, and the set of contact pins being arranged in the cavity.
 4. A thread delivery device according to claim 3, wherein the flat cable forms at the same time the main feed line.
 5. A thread delivery device according to claim 1, wherein the flat cable also forms the main feed line.
 6. A thread delivery device according to claim 1, wherein said supply lines are arranged in adjacent side-by-side relationship within said flat cable and extend circumferentially around said drum. 